John Beck
Biography
John Beck was the American producer who facilitated the production of the original King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), which he released in a heavily edited form in the United States in 1963 as King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963). Beck's other claims to fame are producing the 1950 James Stewart film Harvey and his involvement in the 1946 merger between Universal Pictures and International Pictures. Stop-motion animator Willis O'Brien had contacted Beck with a film treatment for King Kong vs. Frankenstein, which they made a handshake deal to work on. Beck recruited sci-fi screenwriter George Worthing Yates to write the script which became King Kong vs. Prometheus. After failing to pitched it to several American studios, Beck did not further contact with O'Brien. Instead he found a buyer in Japan, Toho, who substituted Godzilla for Frankenstein and started from scratch. Beck, having secured the rights to the film in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel, sold them to Universal for $200,000. He also produced the English-language version of the film, which was extensively recut and featured new scenes in a United Nations newsroom directed by Thomas Montgomery. After learning of King Kong vs. Godzilla, O'Brien contemplated suing Beck but he didn't have enough money and passed away shortly thereafter. Beck himself died of cancer at the age of 83 on July 18, 1993.
Known For & Full Filmography4 Titles
Movie - 1940, 2h 15m • as Townsman
Young lawyer Tod Jackson arrives in pioneer Kansas to visit his prosperous rancher friends the Daltons, just as the latter are in danger of losing their land to a crooked development company. When Tod tries to help them, a faked murder charge turns the Daltons into outlaws, but more victims than villains in this fictionalized version. Will Tod stay loyal to his friends despite falling in love with Bob Dalton's former fiancée Julie?
Movie - 1940, 2h 15m • as Jeff, Worker Asking for Pay
It is 1892 in Death Valley and the yields from the Borax ore are getting so small that refining it is a losing proposition. The only thing that will save the company is a new deposit of high grade Borax, and Skinner Bill Bragg has a pouch of it that he got from a dead prospector he buried on the road. Stag Roper knows the value of the strike could be worth millions, but he needs Bragg to find the prospector's claim so they can record it and become rich partners. While Roper has no intention of cutting Bragg in on the millions, he also has his eye on young Jean Johnson. Josie Johnson, Jean's mother, sees Roper as the scalawag he is, and that means trouble in Furnace Flat.
Movie - 1940, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Frankie Kelly is the soda jerk and embryo scientist in Midvales only drugstore. Two murders and an attempted killing suddenly swing Midvale into national prominence. Frankie and his pal, Jefferson, become involved when a wounded gangster starts to tell them where $300,000 in stolen loot is hidden, but he is murdered before he can give them all of the information. The search is on.
Movie - 1929, 2h 15m • as Sir Timothy's Butler
A pretty, young violinist who travels from Ireland to America to seek fame and fortune on Broadway finds a bit more than she expected. A lost film.